Here are a few national and Virginia news headlines, political and otherwise, for Saturday, August 29. Also see President Obama’s weekly address, this time on “his upcoming trip to Alaska, during which he will view the effects of climate change firsthand. Alaskans are already living with the impact of climate change, with glaciers melting faster, and temperatures projected to rise between six and twelve degrees by the end of the century.” Given this and other environmental threats, I urge President Obama to announce his absolute opposition to oil and/or gas drilling in the Arctic. And no, I don’t buy President Obama’s argument that “high standards” are sufficient; the fact is, an oil spill in the Arctic would be a catastrophe, not in any way/shape/form worth the risk.

Very cool; Rep. Beyer is working on hiking the Appalachian Trail one section at a time, and recently, he’s been joined by his 2014 Democratic primary opponent Bruce Shuttleworth. Pretty cool, huh? What next, Eric Cantor and Dave Brat tour the national parks together? LOL